"Bigfoot" That brings back a memory, In 1975 I was on patrol on the border fence in the Mount Darwin area. We came to a place where the fence had been cut and a group of Terrs had made their way across the minefield by digging and lifting the AP mines, we saw at least one anti-personnel mine now dug up and on the surface, They had made it almost across to the Mocambique side when a large blood spore told they had run out of luck. We then began backtracking to try to ascertain where they had come from. Their tracks were quite visible through the grass and at one point there in a patch of sand where very large boot prints, I actually got down off my horse (I was in Greys Scouts) and put my own boot on the print left by the Terr It was several sizes bigger than my own size 43. I wondered how big the guy was who had been standing there a few hours before. we eventually lost the trail amongst many other spores near a large Kraal. Ah yes, it seems like it was only yesterday.
Sir, your stories never cease to amaze me. It's a blessing that I found your channel and the more I listen to your stories, the more I want to know. And jumping into the river to save that soldier... You said he was a hero, well I think you're a hero just as much as him.
Whauw! You Rhodesians were "ysters" (iron men). We had more-or-less the same war against SWAPO in Southern Angola (seek-and-destroy - I was there in 1982) but we had much more manpower and equipment. Respect.
my grandfather was an englishman who served in malaya and then belfast , and settled because thats where i live lol he always spoke of rhodesians as some of the toughest soldiers the world has seen , and as a people , hearing your stories is amazing , thank you and please keep it up ! :)
Sir, you ALWAYS seem to be able to tell your stories (memories) in such an articulate way. I feel like I can almost see it my minds eye! THANK YOU AGAIN!!!
The detail of the your stories, the little things that you think of and why/how you made estimations odd situations. The pleasure of memory’s - youths exuberance - relived is a joy to watch. The success, struggles, failures avoided and hard lessons learned at unforgettable cost. Told with the wisdom of a life time by a man of humble hard earned understanding.
For me sir, you are a mans Man, in the true sense of the word so too are those you fought with against the reign of terror that came to your land. Your razor sharp memory is also commendable. As a former hard rock Cornish miner, I have been exposed to a climate that separates wheat from chaff, yet your exploits put mine into a far less meaningful perspective, which serves as a great leveller for me.
Fascinating... it’s great there’s things like RUclips to capture these real life stories and perspectives before they’re lost or erased from history. Many thanks
What a marvelous story!-Sir,you made my day!All the best from Polish ex soldier-Rhodesia and Poland have lot in common,starting with the same Independence Day 👍
Amazing. You have a knack of telling your experiences to the point of I try to imagine that I am there also amongst it all, superb. I actually have an AK Bayonet whit it`s` hard scabbard that was given to me by a very good friend. Thank You sir.
Love your channel and your stories. Thanks Romeo Five Five. Just a little aside, here in Texas, a land much of which is not too dissimilar from Rhodesia, I am friends with a Catholic priest from New Zealand. Not sure how we got on the subject but one day he told me he found Rhodesian the most beautiful of all the English accents. I agree though I notice that you may have picked up a bit of South African over the years! Thanks again and God bless.
Great stories sir. Perhaps you could include explanations of some of the Rhodie slang that is used for your international audiences? The word you used to describe the terr's tracks was interesting - "Spur," or something along those lines?
Thanks Tomkkat15. I think you are referring to the word "spoor". spoor (n.) "track, trace," 1823, used originally by travelers in South Africa, from Afrikaans 'spoor', from Dutch 'spoor', from Middle Dutch 'spor', cognate with Old English 'spor' "footprint, track, trace," from Proto-Germanic *spur-am, from PIE *spere- "ankle" (see spurn).
Before my deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with the USMC we received tracking training and were taught the same term. I had no idea of its origins however, thank you for the in depth explanation.
@@fiveromeoromeo5225 hello sir in my native laungage Danish we call it spor = tracks footprints. and to track is= at spore , i wonder if the old english spor comes from the vikings?
Fascinating. Rhodesia seemed a preoccupation with those wanting to oppose communism whén i was a kid here in America. I eventually became a soldier myself. Were they mostly communists? The Vietnam vets who became mercenaries mostly did so for ideological reasons, not for $$
Most weren’t really communists. Many of the soldiers were barely educated, and plenty were press ganged into fighting. They were promised things they’d never get.. Some of the higher ranks were, but mostly they were proxies, relying on the soviets or maoists for weapons and equipment etc.
Excellent. Just a pity that whole lot were not eliminated. Had Fire force been available, it could have been a field day. A pity you lost the bayonet too.
I can imagine you guys radioing back to your company HQ to apologize about the 'misfire'. I've had smiliar experiences and still haven't lived it down lol
My father told me about him and his men being ambushed by Bigfoot. He also told me when Bigfoot was captured, that he went for a helicopter ride way above the bush and accidentally fell out. There was a lot of hatred for that Cuban officer since he was responsible for many South African deaths. Definitely going to share this with him.
I spent many a 'happy' hour sweeping the bush after a terr ambush picking up AK47 'doppies' for them to be sent back to HQ for matching with cases from other contacts to plot the movement of terr groups. I never did find out if it was worth the effort.
smacksman1.. yes, it was exactly like that in the beginning...labelled bags of spent casings and a sketch of the contact scene showing where they were collected ...all ultimately destined for the BSAP science forensic lab in Salisbury. After a while, nobody bothered and for the remaining years of the war it wasn't required by our company. I suppose there were just too many contacts for anyone to process the evidence? Thanks for the comment and keep well my mate.
@@slappy8941 'Police' at that time in Rhodesia had many conflicting terms. First I suppose was BSAP ( British South African Police ) was neither British nor South African but a hangover from Cecil Rhodes. And PATU sticks ( Police Anti Terrorist Unit ) were as military as you could get without being called Army! Intelligence was handled by Special Branch which was 'police' as we think of it today. So yes, we approached terrorism as a military problem with some success.
This is awesome I've always been interested in this conflict but the information on it is scanty at best. I appreciate your time and stories and I'm glad other people are interested as well. Hopefully this doesn't get swept under the "politically correct" rug.
In German the word "Spur" has the meaning of track , too. you should think about English, Dutch, Danish, Norway , Swedish , Icelandic ,German and also Yiddish has the same linguistic roots in old Norse spoken by all Germanic tribes between the North Cape in northern Norway and North Italy. About the 500 there gad been a shift in the spoken dialects and the languages of today had begun to evolve.
I can speak passable German and it's really weird hearing people speak Yiddish, because I can understand enough of it to follow a conversation kind of.
4 года назад
Yiddish is a mix of German and some Hebrew and Polish words!
Im Canadian born to Scottish parents and i have lived in Scotland the last 28 years but my Scottish aunt married a Rhodesian man Desmond VanBlerk who also fought in the bush wars, just wondering if you knew him sir?
As a matter of interest - the same thing happened with (black) Zimbabweans the past decade-or-so. Since the Zimbabwean economy got got ruined illegal Zimbabwean emigrants are all over South Africa. There's no official numbers but estimates vary between 3 million and 5 million. At this point in time, Zimbabweans (in Zimbabwe) are literally facing starvation without food. And South Africa is halfway there (thanks to Rampant Corruption).
“Ziegler” - in the 1970’s I was at jr & snr school in Marandellas, Rhodesia, with 2 Ziegler bros - Peter & Stephen. Any relation to u? I believe Stephen was tragically killed during call up, not long after leaving high school. Verification anyone?
No Matt, 5RR stands for the 5th Battalion, the Rhodesia Regiment. 5th Batt for short. The Rhodesia Regiment was a Territorial unit that consisted of part time soldiers who had to do a compulsory National Service at the Depot Rhodesia Regiment. The barracks for DRR were just outside of Bulawayo. Once you had completed your NS, you were posted to a reserve battalion from where you would do various camps (call ups from your normal civilian jobs). In the beginning of the war we did 3-4 28 day callups per year. In early '76 l started "continuous call ups", which was 6 weeks in & 10 days back home. This continued until late July & then l did another 2 6week camps before year end. From 1977 it was 6 weeks in & 6 weeks out. Yes l saw as much as 5RR
Continued.... action wise, if not maybe more, but what we did was 1/20th of what RLI did & about 1/50th of what Selous Scouts & SAS did. It was a busy little war where partime soldiers like 5RR & myself probably saw more action than your average professional soldier in Europe or the USA.
@@annagriffin2865 If I have family in Rhodesia, we've regrettably fallen out of touch. I really don't know of any Ziegler's outside the US that I'm related to. But I'm told that Ziegler is German for Bricklayer or Mason. Which makes it one of the more common names amoung descendents of German Immigrants
@@calummackenzie1797 Thank you, for that. I'm tempted to revise my comment.. But I think I'll leave it up in order to learn from the embarrassment. Most of his stories involve tracking and trailing so I assumed that his unit must have had a scouting designation. But it sounds like everyone was a tracker, in theRhodesian Army. I studied tracking when I was a kid. The most fascinating parts, of these stories, from my perspective is hearing how that skill set was harnessed to fight a war. I know how foolish this must sound to someone who lived through it but I catch myself daydreaming about it, sometimes. Tracking gives you such an intimate understanding of your prey. It must have been surreal to fight someone who's footprints you'd become so familiar with. It was always enjoyed meeting a person after first tracking them... I can only imagine what it was like to have a gunfight with them.
Me and my friends are planning on making a short film about rhodesia to honor our grandparents and their comrades who fought in the war, would it be alright if we used some of your stories in the movie?
Great stories you have there sir, i am not even blinking while listening to you. One thing is interesting me, back than you didnt used squad or sections, you were all formed into stick's wich were all part of the platoon? So as i get it, after corpolar, stick leader, next in chain of command are PL and PSG, am i right?
Hi Apma. A stick consisted of four men. As you say, there was a stick leader...who would be a corporal. Then, of the remaining three, two would be riflemen and the last man, an MAG gunner. For the most part, the stick would act completely on its own, independent of the platoon. Very occasionally, there might be operations involving the whole platoon - or even the company. But, for most of the time the stick was on its own.
@@fiveromeoromeo5225 Thanks for your response sir. I got the whole stick organisation, you did explained it very precise in one of your videos. My question was, my question was much more, how did you functioned on a platoon level, when whole unit in on mission, like, how many stick were in one platoon, did platoon had any special weapon sections or something like that?
Hi again Apma. The platoon usually consisted of a headquarter unit - that is, the platoon commander...normally a lieutenant...a platoon sergeant...at least one truck driver...and possibly a full-time cook. The sections - or sticks or call-signs as we called them, were four-man fighting units, and in my platoon - which was a support platoon - they were specialists sticks of one sort or another. We had two sticks that were used exclusively on combat tracking duties. We also had a mortar stick - armed with 62mm mortars. For a time, there was also a sniper stick, but for various reasons, that did not prove as effective as we would have liked. So, a platoon, if it was lucky enough to have the manpower, would have twelve soldiers on the front line - split into teams of four - each covering as much as a couple of hundred square kilometers of bush on its own, and about four headquarter men back at its base camp - plus one stick resting and on reserve. In all, roughly twenty men. Sometimes the figures varied slightly, but that was about the size of it. A company then, would consist of its headquarter element, and four platoons - one of which as I mentioned, was a support platoon. All would be operating away from each other and responsible for a particular area of the countryside. Inside Rhodesia, for territorial army units, combined operations in platoon or company strength were very rare, and would consist almost exclusively of cordon-and-search, sweep-line, and saturated observation-post duties. Therefore, a platoon could go months without seeing other members its company, but when the need arises, sticks are rapidly uplifted and moved elsewhere to give support. So one minute you are just four guys and you make contact with the enemy, the next minute, (provided there are choppers available,) there are twelve men on the way to help - and you may never have met any of them in your life before. I think we were just too short of men and the land too big to employ any other way of doing things. Many thanks for your question and your interest. I hope my response helps. Keep well.
Thank you again sir, your resposne was very informative. Its very interesting how that small units had so much succsess, i think that was great concept for fighting insurgents, rather than standard formations of US and USSR in Vietnam and Afganistan, for sure you had much more morale than them, you were fighting for your own land. Thanks again, i cant wait for a new story!
Five Romeo Romeo, you were "ysters" ("iron men"). We did the same thing in Southern Angola against SWAPO, but with many more manpower. We operated in platoons (30 men). The smallest squad were sections, but they never really acted independently except security patrols. We also ran after SWAPO and mowed them down like flies, but much more men and equipment.
Great "When I " stories I v'e grabbed my sandbag and am swing the lamp. You should place a picture on the Green screen. Also, are their any similar channels made by the nationalists and their view point ?
Finnish Chap. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any nazi uniforms at first hand, but if I had to make a comparison with what one sees on movies, I would say the East German was finer cut...in other words, not so baggy and also a little simpler - if that makes sense? Colour?...perhaps a bit more toward green than grey. Hopes this helps. Thanks for the question and keep well.
When do we get another story I just met a woman in that was a teen in Rhodesia during the bush war she is a professor at Oregon State University in the USA she has some good stories but not as good as yours
These oral histories are invaluable. Thank you so much. This information must be preserved.
"Bigfoot" That brings back a memory, In 1975 I was on patrol on the border fence in the Mount Darwin area. We came to a place where the fence had been cut and a group of Terrs had made their way across the minefield by digging and lifting the AP mines, we saw at least one anti-personnel mine now dug up and on the surface, They had made it almost across to the Mocambique side when a large blood spore told they had run out of luck. We then began backtracking to try to ascertain where they had come from. Their tracks were quite visible through the grass and at one point there in a patch of sand where very large boot prints, I actually got down off my horse (I was in Greys Scouts) and put my own boot on the print left by the Terr It was several sizes bigger than my own size 43. I wondered how big the guy was who had been standing there a few hours before. we eventually lost the trail amongst many other spores near a large Kraal. Ah yes, it seems like it was only yesterday.
What is spores?
@@jennifernichols9468 " Spores" are tracks ( Foot / Hoof prints ) left by the passage of an animal.
Sir, your stories never cease to amaze me. It's a blessing that I found your channel and the more I listen to your stories, the more I want to know.
And jumping into the river to save that soldier... You said he was a hero, well I think you're a hero just as much as him.
i think it's good you are offering these war stories most americans don't know their was a war much less a country named rhodesia
Sorry friend, but we do. Unfortunately anyone who thinks Rhodesia should have won, would be labeled a racist, so we keep our mouths shut. Cheers!
@@KM-oi9ks ............. and anyone who thinks it’s good they lost clearly doesn’t value human life.
Who's binging on this incredible mans content today? Just listened to his latest upload and relishing the previous episodes.
Lord Wellington said
“the whole art of war consists in getting at what is on the other side of the hill”
Whauw! You Rhodesians were "ysters" (iron men). We had more-or-less the same war against SWAPO in Southern Angola (seek-and-destroy - I was there in 1982) but we had much more manpower and equipment. Respect.
Thank you patriot, from Wyoming!
my grandfather was an englishman who served in malaya and then belfast , and settled because thats where i live lol he always spoke of rhodesians as some of the toughest soldiers the world has seen , and as a people , hearing your stories is amazing , thank you and please keep it up ! :)
Sir, you ALWAYS seem to be able to tell your stories (memories) in such an articulate way. I feel like I can almost see it my minds eye! THANK YOU AGAIN!!!
The detail of the your stories, the little things that you think of and why/how you made estimations odd situations.
The pleasure of memory’s - youths exuberance - relived is a joy to watch. The success, struggles, failures avoided and hard lessons learned at unforgettable cost. Told with the wisdom of a life time by a man of humble hard earned understanding.
For me sir, you are a mans Man, in the true sense of the word so too are those you fought with against the reign of terror that came to your land. Your razor sharp memory is also commendable. As a former hard rock Cornish miner, I have been exposed to a climate that separates wheat from chaff, yet your exploits put mine into a far less meaningful perspective, which serves as a great leveller for me.
You are a great story teller, a legend of a soldier and a hero. Thanks for sharing your life stories.
Fascinating... it’s great there’s things like RUclips to capture these real life stories and perspectives before they’re lost or erased from history. Many thanks
Thank you for recording your stories. My Father passed away without telling me about his part in the bush war.
Would love to have you on with Jocko Podcast
I remember the stories of Bigfoot. RIP Bruce Yates, convoy was ambush near Beightbridge. He was my cousin.
Love these stories!
These stories are pure gold. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent series, much appreciated!
Thank you for your service!
God bless.
My absolute favorite channel on here. Just stumbled upon these stories and they are absolutely immersive!! Thank you for the top contribution.
What a marvelous story!-Sir,you made my day!All the best from Polish ex soldier-Rhodesia and Poland have lot in common,starting with the same Independence Day 👍
Thank you so much for sharing these stories with us, I am truly grateful.
Wonderful presentation
Love watching all these videos - the style and manner is so engaging
May God bless all you brave Christian men. Thank you for you service to mankind.
Amazing. You have a knack of telling your experiences to the point of I try to imagine that I am there also amongst it all, superb. I actually have an AK Bayonet whit it`s` hard scabbard that was given to me by a very good friend. Thank You sir.
Sir, always a pleasure to listen to. Thanks for posting.
Great stories and well told!
Enjoy listening to these experiences.
Love your channel and your stories. Thanks Romeo Five Five. Just a little aside, here in Texas, a land much of which is not too dissimilar from Rhodesia, I am friends with a Catholic priest from New Zealand. Not sure how we got on the subject but one day he told me he found Rhodesian the most beautiful of all the English accents. I agree though I notice that you may have picked up a bit of South African over the years! Thanks again and God bless.
Great stories sir. Perhaps you could include explanations of some of the Rhodie slang that is used for your international audiences? The word you used to describe the terr's tracks was interesting - "Spur," or something along those lines?
Thanks Tomkkat15. I think you are referring to the word "spoor".
spoor (n.)
"track, trace," 1823, used originally by travelers in South Africa, from Afrikaans 'spoor', from Dutch 'spoor', from Middle Dutch 'spor', cognate with Old English 'spor' "footprint, track, trace," from Proto-Germanic *spur-am, from PIE *spere- "ankle" (see spurn).
Thank you sir. It’s very interesting to hear these terms in use.
Before my deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with the USMC we received tracking training and were taught the same term. I had no idea of its origins however, thank you for the in depth explanation.
Yeah, I was exposed to that term in a man tracking school I attended as a paramilitary punk in the 90's.
@@fiveromeoromeo5225 hello sir in my native laungage Danish we call it spor = tracks footprints. and to track is= at spore , i wonder if the old english spor comes from the vikings?
Fascinating. Rhodesia seemed a preoccupation with those wanting to oppose communism whén i was a kid here in America. I eventually became a soldier myself. Were they mostly communists? The Vietnam vets who became mercenaries mostly did so for ideological reasons, not for $$
Most weren’t really communists. Many of the soldiers were barely educated, and plenty were press ganged into fighting. They were promised things they’d never get.. Some of the higher ranks were, but mostly they were proxies, relying on the soviets or maoists for weapons and equipment etc.
Excellent. Just a pity that whole lot were not eliminated. Had Fire force been available, it could have been a field day. A pity you lost the bayonet too.
I can imagine you guys radioing back to your company HQ to apologize about the 'misfire'. I've had smiliar experiences and still haven't lived it down lol
My dad told me about bigfoot the patrols would often pick up his spoor and then it would vanish so they determined he walked on fences
Recorded for posterity.
nice one 5RR
My father told me about him and his men being ambushed by Bigfoot. He also told me when Bigfoot was captured, that he went for a helicopter ride way above the bush and accidentally fell out. There was a lot of hatred for that Cuban officer since he was responsible for many South African deaths. Definitely going to share this with him.
I spent many a 'happy' hour sweeping the bush after a terr ambush picking up AK47 'doppies' for them to be sent back to HQ for matching with cases from other contacts to plot the movement of terr groups. I never did find out if it was worth the effort.
smacksman1.. yes, it was exactly like that in the beginning...labelled bags of spent casings and a sketch of the contact scene showing where they were collected ...all ultimately destined for the BSAP science forensic lab in Salisbury. After a while, nobody bothered and for the remaining years of the war it wasn't required by our company. I suppose there were just too many contacts for anyone to process the evidence? Thanks for the comment and keep well my mate.
I always thought it was ridiculous that terrorism was approached as a police problem instead of a purely military problem.
@@slappy8941 'Police' at that time in Rhodesia had many conflicting terms. First I suppose was BSAP ( British South African Police ) was neither British nor South African but a hangover from Cecil Rhodes. And PATU sticks ( Police Anti Terrorist Unit ) were as military as you could get without being called Army! Intelligence was handled by Special Branch which was 'police' as we think of it today. So yes, we approached terrorism as a military problem with some success.
Having served with the French Forces, I can associate with you.
Good story.
This is awesome I've always been interested in this conflict but the information on it is scanty at best. I appreciate your time and stories and I'm glad other people are interested as well. Hopefully this doesn't get swept under the "politically correct" rug.
The information will only get worse/hard to come by.
Great stuff ... kia ora /greetings from a kiwi ... new subscriber ..
I understand , now 62 years of age, brilliant, you went bossies ,(Jungle fatique)
a corporals war. bravo
cpl wood here Rhodesian territorial "corporals war" right on toughest rank in any army.
So you did not get big foot
I stumbled on your story’s this is the second one
you are right china it was a corporals war and i still have my ak bayonet . ex 10rr.
Chris Mee...you lucky bliksem! Hang onto it! Keep well my mate.
Rhodesians never die
In German the word "Spur" has the meaning of track , too. you should think about English, Dutch, Danish, Norway , Swedish , Icelandic ,German and also Yiddish has the same linguistic roots in old Norse spoken by all Germanic tribes between the North Cape in northern Norway and North Italy. About the 500 there gad been a shift in the spoken dialects and the languages of today had begun to evolve.
I can speak passable German and it's really weird hearing people speak Yiddish, because I can understand enough of it to follow a conversation kind of.
Yiddish is a mix of German and some Hebrew and Polish words!
Im Canadian born to Scottish parents and i have lived in Scotland the last 28 years but my Scottish aunt married a Rhodesian man Desmond VanBlerk who also fought in the bush wars, just wondering if you knew him sir?
Van Blerk is a common Afrikaans surname - his roots probably Dutch / Afrikaans.
Panzers, my word I have never heard that expression before and I served 4 years; what did I miss??
I’m wondering what happened to the White Rohdesian after the war ? Did they go to South Africa ? The UK ?
Rhodesians hit South Africa like a sandstorm in the early 1980's! LOL
As a matter of interest - the same thing happened with (black) Zimbabweans the past decade-or-so. Since the Zimbabwean economy got got ruined illegal Zimbabwean emigrants are all over South Africa. There's no official numbers but estimates vary between 3 million and 5 million. At this point in time, Zimbabweans (in Zimbabwe) are literally facing starvation without food. And South Africa is halfway there (thanks to Rampant Corruption).
15:47 you could've buried the "kit" and hide it and come back for it all later.
i doubt he thought he ever be back
Size 10 and they call him Bigfoot, what would that make me with a 12 wide, Freak, lol?
I've asked on a few of these videos; what unit this guy was with. It sounds like, as I expected, that he was with the Selous Scouts
“Ziegler” - in the 1970’s I was at jr & snr school in Marandellas, Rhodesia, with 2 Ziegler bros - Peter & Stephen. Any relation to u? I believe Stephen was tragically killed during call up, not long after leaving high school. Verification anyone?
No Matt, 5RR stands for the 5th Battalion, the Rhodesia Regiment. 5th Batt for short. The Rhodesia Regiment was a Territorial unit that consisted of part time soldiers who had to do a compulsory National Service at the Depot Rhodesia Regiment. The barracks for DRR were just outside of Bulawayo. Once you had completed your NS, you were posted to a reserve battalion from where you would do various camps (call ups from your normal civilian jobs). In the beginning of the war we did 3-4 28 day callups per year. In early '76 l started "continuous call ups", which was 6 weeks in & 10 days back home. This continued until late July & then l did another 2 6week camps before year end. From 1977 it was 6 weeks in & 6 weeks out. Yes l saw as much as 5RR
Continued.... action wise, if not maybe more, but what we did was 1/20th of what RLI did & about 1/50th of what Selous Scouts & SAS did. It was a busy little war where partime soldiers like 5RR & myself probably saw more action than your average professional soldier in Europe or the USA.
@@annagriffin2865 If I have family in Rhodesia, we've regrettably fallen out of touch. I really don't know of any Ziegler's outside the US that I'm related to. But I'm told that Ziegler is German for Bricklayer or Mason. Which makes it one of the more common names amoung descendents of German Immigrants
@@calummackenzie1797 Thank you, for that. I'm tempted to revise my comment.. But I think I'll leave it up in order to learn from the embarrassment. Most of his stories involve tracking and trailing so I assumed that his unit must have had a scouting designation. But it sounds like everyone was a tracker, in theRhodesian Army. I studied tracking when I was a kid. The most fascinating parts, of these stories, from my perspective is hearing how that skill set was harnessed to fight a war. I know how foolish this must sound to someone who lived through it but I catch myself daydreaming about it, sometimes. Tracking gives you such an intimate understanding of your prey. It must have been surreal to fight someone who's footprints you'd become so familiar with. It was always enjoyed meeting a person after first tracking them... I can only imagine what it was like to have a gunfight with them.
Spoor. Means tracks or indications of animals or humans.who had passed by recently
Me and my friends are planning on making a short film about rhodesia to honor our grandparents and their comrades who fought in the war, would it be alright if we used some of your stories in the movie?
Callum Fleming. It would a great privilege to be included. Please feel free to go ahead. (I knew a Peter Fleming...same family perhaps?)
What was the Yank MAG gunner's name? What became of him?
Great stories you have there sir, i am not even blinking while listening to you. One thing is interesting me, back than you didnt used squad or sections, you were all formed into stick's wich were all part of the platoon? So as i get it, after corpolar, stick leader, next in chain of command are PL and PSG, am i right?
Hi Apma. A stick consisted of four men. As you say, there was a stick leader...who would be a corporal. Then, of the remaining three, two would be riflemen and the last man, an MAG gunner. For the most part, the stick would act completely on its own, independent of the platoon. Very occasionally, there might be operations involving the whole platoon - or even the company. But, for most of the time the stick was on its own.
@@fiveromeoromeo5225 Thanks for your response sir. I got the whole stick organisation, you did explained it very precise in one of your videos. My question was, my question was much more, how did you functioned on a platoon level, when whole unit in on mission, like, how many stick were in one platoon, did platoon had any special weapon sections or something like that?
Hi again Apma. The platoon usually consisted of a headquarter unit - that is, the platoon commander...normally a lieutenant...a platoon sergeant...at least one truck driver...and possibly a full-time cook. The sections - or sticks or call-signs as we called them, were four-man fighting units, and in my platoon - which was a support platoon - they were specialists sticks of one sort or another. We had two sticks that were used exclusively on combat tracking duties. We also had a mortar stick - armed with 62mm mortars. For a time, there was also a sniper stick, but for various reasons, that did not prove as effective as we would have liked. So, a platoon, if it was lucky enough to have the manpower, would have twelve soldiers on the front line - split into teams of four - each covering as much as a couple of hundred square kilometers of bush on its own, and about four headquarter men back at its base camp - plus one stick resting and on reserve. In all, roughly twenty men. Sometimes the figures varied slightly, but that was about the size of it.
A company then, would consist of its headquarter element, and four platoons - one of which as I mentioned, was a support platoon. All would be operating away from each other and responsible for a particular area of the countryside. Inside Rhodesia, for territorial army units, combined operations in platoon or company strength were very rare, and would consist almost exclusively of cordon-and-search, sweep-line, and saturated observation-post duties. Therefore, a platoon could go months without seeing other members its company, but when the need arises, sticks are rapidly uplifted and moved elsewhere to give support. So one minute you are just four guys and you make contact with the enemy, the next minute, (provided there are choppers available,) there are twelve men on the way to help - and you may never have met any of them in your life before. I think we were just too short of men and the land too big to employ any other way of doing things. Many thanks for your question and your interest. I hope my response helps. Keep well.
Thank you again sir, your resposne was very informative. Its very interesting how that small units had so much succsess, i think that was great concept for fighting insurgents, rather than standard formations of US and USSR in Vietnam and Afganistan, for sure you had much more morale than them, you were fighting for your own land. Thanks again, i cant wait for a new story!
Five Romeo Romeo, you were "ysters" ("iron men"). We did the same thing in Southern Angola against SWAPO, but with many more manpower. We operated in platoons (30 men). The smallest squad were sections, but they never really acted independently except security patrols. We also ran after SWAPO and mowed them down like flies, but much more men and equipment.
Great "When I " stories I v'e grabbed my sandbag and am swing the lamp. You should place a picture on the Green screen. Also, are their any similar channels made by the nationalists and their view point ?
Any experience with pookies/engineers ?
I doubt if many Rhodesians are still in Africa. Or am I wrong?
when talking about the east german kit was it almost like the ww2 nazi uniforms or was it more modern?
Finnish Chap. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any nazi uniforms at first hand, but if I had to make a comparison with what one sees on movies, I would say the East German was finer cut...in other words, not so baggy and also a little simpler - if that makes sense? Colour?...perhaps a bit more toward green than grey. Hopes this helps. Thanks for the question and keep well.
@@fiveromeoromeo5225 thanks you for the explanation that is really intresting it seems like you cant find almost everything in the bush!
You are sitting on a goldmine in book material
size 10 bigfoot? 10 is probably avg in my state in the US
@Marshal Law Yeah its bigger buy one size. An 11 in the US or 10 in the UK is average
what is bigfoot?
Just some asshole enemy that had large feet that these guys wanted to kill.
What is a spua? American here
Spur means track in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and so on.
Spoor
When do we get another story I just met a woman in that was a teen in Rhodesia during the bush war she is a professor at Oregon State University in the USA she has some good stories but not as good as yours
my Real Time is wasted here... any comments i have made are GONE .
now .. Gone.
Reminisce. the Real War against Commies is Scaring you?
It’s more than likely RUclips that is removing your comments.